Will Ferrell’s Old Milwaukee Ads Are Wonderful

Imagine you’re a company that peddles really crappy beer. Like, worst than PBR. Sh*t only grizzled old men drink to prove how manly they are or something. Beer consumed by men whose taste buds have been irreparably damaged by chewing and smoking tobacco for decades. Horse piss beer. You know what I’m talking about.

Now imagine that one of the biggest movie stars in the world shows up at your sh*tty beer company doorstep one day and is like, “Hey, I’d like to make some commercials for you — FOR FREE.” Because that’s basically how it came to be that Will Ferrell made three viral ads for Old Milwaukee.

Why, exactly, Ferrell wanted to do the ads, is a mystery. Also, why he chose to shoot them in Davenport — the beer is from Wisconsin, after all. And why he likes Old Milwaukee in the first place. The discount brand is, infamously, not well liked. (Typical review: “nothing special. or horrendous.”)

Pabst chief marketing officer Bryan Crowley did not immediately return a message seeking an explanation of how this all came about. The ads, meanwhile, are likely to garner a far larger audience on YouTube than they ever will in Davenport. And that, perhaps, is the point … except that Old Mil’ doesn’t even have a YouTube channel.

I’m sure there’s a bigger story behind this, but for now here are the ads. One is embedded up top and the other two are below. Enjoy.